Our new life in the Ozarks: Spring Hiking and Camping is here !

    Well .... I think winter has finally loosened its grip on the Ozark region . I actually had to MOW the other day! It has been a long winter , but I don't mind , as I prefer cool weather to being soaked with sweat every time you step outside. It's been a long while since my last post and I apologize for that . Seems that the instant gratification of posting to Facebook has stolen some of the content for the blog.

   Penny and I are proud to welcome our new Granddaughter .... Anna Bulak , who was born on April 6th, 2014. She is Kyle and Laura's second child , and our sixth grandchild .
   We continue to lure visitors up to the Ozarks .... the first weekend in April Penny's sister Peggy and her son Adam drove up from Texas . Penny and Peggy had a girls day out shopping , while Adam and I drove down to the Sylamore forest to go on a hike . It was a lot of fun , and Adam enjoyed the trail a lot.

   Penny decided to make a trip down to Texas over the Easter weekend , and I took the opportunity to load up some camping gear and spend some time down in the Sylamore forest . I left after my 1/2 day at work on Saturday , and when I arrived a Gunner Pool campground , there was only ONE camp site left . It was kind of out of the way , and way off of the creek , but I didn't mind , as I wanted do some more nighttime photography and I didn't want all the extra light around . I hiked down to the creek and took a few nice shots around the bridge area , showing all the life that is returning to the forest . Later , as I geared up for some night shots , the moon was late coming up , so there wasn't a lot of light to work with . I got one decent shot as the moon was coming up behind some trees . Then I drifted off to sleep in my chair waiting for it to rise further . When I awoke , I notice the sky had become cloudy and had blotted out any more chances for photos. Sigh.... But , the good news is , I had a nice comfy air mattress with a recently purchased new sleeping bag waiting inside the tent .... I slept like a log in the forest . Wait .... I was in the forest .....

                                                           Enjoy the pics !